Ways to Recruit More Volunteers, For Less
It is well known that nonprofit volunteers are the backbone of your organization. However, in the world of giving back, we often find ourselves scrambling for enough (wo)man-power to complete the desired mission. Volunteers who are consistently engaged and devoted to your nonprofit are few and far between, so we have compiled a list of 5 creative volunteer recruitment methods, plans and ideas so you can recruit (and retain) high-quality volunteers for your nonprofit organization.
1. ASK THE PEOPLE
Yes, you read that right. You just need to ask! As the old saying goes “You’ll never know if you don’t ask.” Simply posting you volunteer listings to your website isn’t enough to recruit more volunteers to your nonprofit.
Also, put your listings and ask for volunteers across all social media and internet accounts. Here are a few more ways to get more volunteers at your events.
Create a page or a link for people who may want to volunteer for your NPO.
Create weekly or monthly highlighted volunteers that are shared on your website and social media.
Get articles/stories published in the news, magazines, newspapers, etc.
Create an e-mail newsletter that highlights upcoming opportunities and success stories.
Expand your network by asking current volunteers to refer their friends. Offer incentives if you want!
Returning back to the simple “ask”, it also helps to personally ask someone. Whether it be in person or on social media, asking someone to volunteer one-on-one makes the offering and reward more personal, ultimately making the chances of that person volunteering to increase. These could be people in your inner circle of friends, or even someone who follows you on social media. A personal conversation may go a long way.
Lastly, there are also websites that can connect possible volunteers to nonprofits, like Swoovy. Swoovy lists ‘nonprofit volunteer opportunities near me’ and ‘nonprofit volunteer organizations near me’ from hundreds of nonprofits who need help and matches volunteers in the Austin area. Not only that, but the app is designed to help you meet new people while volunteering your time! From friends to even something more.
2. BE CLEAR
When using the word “Volunteer” in your listings, it becomes a fairly vague term. Everyone knows what a volunteer is, but the word encompasses so many different titles and positions that it simply does not do justice. In your listings, you want to be specific. What kind of volunteers do you need? Cooks, Package Sorters, Dog Walkers, Carpenters, Servers… you get the deal.
Also include the skills that may be needed to complete the job. Lets imagine you are looking for a cook to make food for your local homeless shelter. You can write something along the lines of; “We are looking for cooks who are capable of making 200 servings of grilled chicken, rice and broccoli.” It is important to include these skills because if a possible volunteer saw the listing without the skills listed, they can misconstrue it and believe that they need to be employed as a cook as a career in order to volunteer. If you’re willing to teach people how to do the job, list that as well. It’s very important to let people know that they don’t need to be a Salt Bae level chef to volunteer for your nonprofit.
Being clear and specific in your listings may seem tedious when you’re posting them, however it will pay dividends in the long-run. Specifics let the person know exactly what skills are needed and how they will do it, compared to an obscure listing titled “Volunteer”.
3. WHAT’S IN IT FOR THEM?
Let’s be real. It is human nature for people to naturally want something in return for their efforts. Whatever it may be. Most people see “Volunteer” and go straight to thinking that they will not be getting any return for their work, and then brush it off. While this isn’t the case for all people, it is still important to list the benefits that come along with the opportunity. What do the volunteers receive in return?
A positive impact on your/their community
Practice, develop and diversify their skillset(s)
Networking and relationships
Backing a cause they care about
Giving aide to those in need
4. KEEP IT SIMPLE
We’ve all heard the acronym; KISS. If not, it means Keep It Simple Stupid. By this, we mean that you need to keep the process of signing up and being a volunteer as simple as possible. Making people do backflips and jump through hoops makes it much more likely that someone will simply walk away from an application or the process of signing up. If your sign-up process takes a prospective volunteer through 15 different tabs, 6 pop-up ad websites and requires the exact time they were born, that person will most likely just give up on the process. Clearly I’m being a little extreme with the analogies here, but you get my point.
To keep it simple, design your website around the volunteering aspect of your nonprofit. Have a volunteer button in big letters and make it stand out among the rest of the page. Make the application or sign-up process fool-proof. Provide contact information. Have an automated email response, saying thank you and that you will get back to them as soon as possible. If someone is to call your nonprofit, be happy and cheerful and be willing to help them every step of the way.
Doing things like this and keeping it simple goes a long way.
5. PROVIDE LEVELS OF ENGAGEMENT
Not all volunteers are built the same. Some may want to volunteer 3-5 times a week for 2 hours at the homeless shelter, others may want to do once a week, and some even want to just have a “one and done”. What we’re saying is that different people will be interested in different opportunities.
Let’s use Habitat for Humanity as an example. Someone needs to plan the building events and recruit other volunteers months in advance, requiring a lot of time. A level down from that will be the carpenters that are teaching the volunteers and overseeing how things are done and that they’re done correctly. Another level down will be the volunteers who dedicate 1 to 2 weeks to help build. And then the volunteers who are helping for 1-2 days helping obtain and move supplies for the builds. There can even be a level where volunteers don’t participate in the actual event itself. The level of fundraising where people donate their money to the cause that will ultimately help the in-person volunteers to complete the project(s).
While it is important to list the different levels, it is more important to state that the help of every volunteer is what makes a difference. From the planner to the supply movers, each volunteer is pivotal for the success of your nonprofits mission. You never want to degrade a volunteer just because they dedicated less time than another person. Who knows, maybe that person who volunteered for one day will turn into a volunteer who helps weekly.
LET’S GET TO WORK
Now that we’ve given 5 ways to expand your volunteer network, it’s time to put them into action. Your recruitment is set up and good to go, now all you need to do is retain all of your new volunteers. Be engaged, be friendly and always thank every single volunteer for their time. The little actions make a big difference in the long run.